Count on me

• We aim to facilitate and enhance the basic mathematics learning process, as much of the existing educational technology primarily focuses on memorization. We aspire to make a meaningful difference in this regard.
• We have faith in the genuine potential of technology to enhance comprehension and learning in mathematics and science.
• We hold the belief that we can revolutionize the way mathematics is taught.
• We strongly advocate for education to reclaim its true essence, recognizing that mere superficial technological adaptations are insufficient.

As the project leader, I participated in the project's development, from its initial idea to the creation of a functional prototype. Here's an explanation of how the project has evolved under my leadership:

1.     Idea Generation: Initiated the project by identifying the need for an innovative and effective solution through my academic research and market insights.

2.     Planning and Team Formation: Assembled a small group of individuals who shared the vision and goals for the project.

3.     Project Development: Conducting software and electronic prototyping, using my technical skills and knowledge to create the first product prototype versions. This step allowed the new team members to refine the concept and identify potential challenges and improvements for the future commercial product.

4.     Piece Design: Work on designing the board’s physical components that conduct us to initiate the patent request process.

5.     Attention to detail and understanding the target users' needs ensured that the product effectively supported their learning.

6.     Promotion: Raising awareness about the project's potential benefits and promoting the project to potential incubators and investors.

At this stage, our team is united by a shared vision: to create a meaningful and enjoyable learning experience for children. However, it's important to acknowledge that the project currently needs more funding due to the need for more funding. As the project leader, I am the sole member fully dedicated to the project, while the rest of the team provides support in specific technical tasks. Given my background and role, I have been responsible for conducting the necessary research.

Despite these constraints, the LEAP Project allows us to develop further and refine our product. Throughout the project, I will continue to serve as the main point of contact and take on the overall responsibility for its progress. This includes overseeing the development of the product, coordinating with the team members for their contributions in specialized areas, and ensuring the project aligns with our goals.

While the absence of dedicated resources poses challenges, it also encourages us to be resourceful and maximize our existing capabilities. We will leverage the expertise and skills of the team members, allocating their support to specific technical tasks that contribute to the product's development. Their involvement will ensure that each product component meets the required standards and functionality.

Regarding research, I will continue to lead this aspect based on my background and expertise. I will conduct thorough research to gather insights. This will help us ensure our product aligns with the latest trends and research findings, enhancing its effectiveness and appeal.

Although the current circumstances present challenges, the LEAP Project can catalyze our progress. We recognize the importance of securing funding to expand the team's dedication and resources, allowing us to realize the project’s potential fully. We will strive to overcome these limitations throughout the LEAP Project by demonstrating our product’s value and potential social impact.

Our interactive board transforms abstract numbers into intelligent physical representations, fostering basic mathematics learning within a captivating building blocks game.

Like numerous countries across the globe, Latin America faces significant challenges regarding mathematical underperformance*, which directly hampers the development of science and technology. The issue of mathematical education is a global concern, reflected in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4.6 (SDG): "By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy."

Let's delve into the tools available to support basic arithmetic learning. On the one hand, there is a notable limitation in the technology tools used to teach primary mathematics in classrooms. The reliance on software and electronic devices, such as computers, smartphones, and tablets, poses significant risks to the safety of young learners. Moreover, the usability of these tools becomes a concern when considering their application for children under 12. As a result, the available software is primarily tailored to advanced courses, leaving the early grades needing more appropriate technological resources to facilitate their learning process effectively.

On the other hand, the pedagogical approach and methods employed for teaching arithmetic remain rooted in outdated 19th-century practices. This antiquated system persists despite the advancements of the 21st century. Consequently, hundreds of millions of children worldwide are still taught arithmetic using methodologies, pedagogies, and tools that fail to meet their needs.

A significant part of the problem lies in how basic arithmetic is taught during childhood, which resembles the methods used to teach complex topics like differential calculus to university students. The process revolves around memorizing formulas, identifying symbols, and adhering to numerous rules. This approach often leads to disengagement and apathy among most children and young learners.

Moreover, this obsolete model must pay more attention to children’s fundamental play, experimentation, and creativity requirements. Consequently, children may acquire the ability to solve basic operations but struggle when confronted with more intricate problems that demand creative thinking and ingenuity. The absence of a playful and exploratory learning environment further compounds young learners’ challenges.

Overall, inadequate technological tools and outdated pedagogical methods hinder effective arithmetic education, limiting children's mathematical abilities and dampening their enthusiasm for the subject. Addressing these issues is crucial to nurture students' creativity, problem-solving skills, and mathematical proficiency.

* View: OECD-PISA, UNESCO-ERCE

Our innovative product is an interactive physical solution resembling a building block game. Its composition comprises a set of blocks and an electronic board, both essential components of the experience. Children actively engage with the collection of Lego-like blocks, each representing a distinct number ranging from 1 to 10.

The electronic board is equipped with advanced capabilities. It recognizes and assigns numerical values to the blocks and can identify patterns associated with addition, subtraction, or multiplication based on the arrangement of the blocks on the board. Consequently, it performs calculations to determine the results of each operation, facilitating a comprehensive learning experience.

The board plays a crucial role in synthesizing and translating interactions into various formats, ensuring inclusivity for children with different needs. It provides visual and audible feedback, enabling children to engage with the product through multiple senses. This approach not only enhances the overall learning experience but also accommodates children with disabilities, ensuring they can fully participate and benefit from the interactive nature of the product.

By merging the familiarity of a building block game with the advanced capabilities of the electronic board, our product offers a unique and engaging learning experience. It empowers children to actively explore and understand mathematical concepts through hands-on interaction while providing real-time feedback and support in different languages.

As the board is fully programmable and reprogrammable through the internet, we can implement updates or upgrades to facilitate progressive children's training. For example, we can program the board to concentrate on specific subjects, evaluate their progress, provide feedback, and then reprogram the board to focus on different subjects. This approach aligns with the concept of learning variability, as it caters to individual learning needs and adapts to their unique learning pace and preferences.

As part of my project, I carried out a pre-experimental research study. The primary objective was to investigate the understanding of concepts related to magnitude and quantity among a group of 25 first-grade children in Colombia who were aged 7 in average.

To begin with, the research involved selecting a specific group of children from a basic education setting. These participants were then subjected to a pretest consisting of 10 questions specifically designed to assess their grasp of concepts related to magnitude and quantity. This initial assessment aimed to establish a baseline understanding among the children before any intervention or instruction took place.

Following the pretest, the students were provided with instructions on how to effectively utilize a board, which served as a teaching aid during the study. The purpose of this instruction was to familiarize the students with the board and its various uses, enabling them to integrate it into their learning process.

Finally, after the instruction phase, the students underwent another test that focused on problem-solving skills. This test aimed to evaluate their ability to apply the concepts of magnitude and quantity that they had been exposed to during the experiment. By comparing the results of the pretest and the post-instruction test, the study aimed to assess the impact of the instructional intervention on the students' problem-solving abilities.

Overall, this pre-experimental research design allowed for an initial exploration of the relationship between the instruction on board usage and the improvement in problem-solving skills related to magnitude and quantity concepts in first-grade students.

As the founder and team leader, I have pursued a master’s degree in Educational Technology, which has provided me with valuable insights into various topics relevant to our project. Over three years, I have dedicated my studies to exploring subjects directly related to this project.

My master's degree thesis, titled "Impact of the Use of Tangible Interface Technology as a Symbolic Alternative for Numerical Representation in the Learning Process of Basic Arithmetic." is currently in progress and has not yet been published. However, I have had the opportunity to conduct tests with experimental groups of children using a basic board prototype.

The preliminary results of these tests have been encouraging. They have shown that children are more likely to grasp the relationship between the proportion and magnitude of numbers when using the board. Another significant finding has emerged: many participating children expressed a desire to continue using the board in subsequent classes.

While the research article is still being finalized for publication, these initial outcomes indicate the potential of our project to enhance children's understanding and engagement with basic arithmetic concepts. These results further motivate our team to continue refining and developing the board, ensuring its effectiveness in promoting meaningful learning experiences for young learners.

Our team acknowledges the importance of strengthening the evidence base of our solution to enhance the learning of concepts like proportion, quantity, and equivalence of numbers in basic arithmetic education. We aim to establish a robust foundation of research, recommendations, and strategies that support the integration of technology, specifically TUI (Tangible User Interface) technology, in educational settings, with a Lego-Compatible format.

Currently, there is limited empirical research specifically focused on the use of TUI technology applied to basic arithmetic. Although existing studies on technology in education exist, there is a need for evidence that specifically addresses the effectiveness, challenges, and best practices related to these particular concepts in basic arithmetic. Despite the similarity of our approach to the Singapore Math or Singapore Method, there is a dearth of experiments or studies related to the use of similar technologies that could serve as references.

Therefore, we believe that the LEAP Fellow team can provide valuable guidance in establishing connections and demonstrating the effectiveness of our solution. We seek their assistance in finding approaches that can help us bridge the gap in research and build a strong evidence base for our solution. Their expertise and research capabilities can aid us in identifying relevant studies, designing experimental frameworks, and implementing data collection methodologies that can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of our Lego-Compatible TUI technology in improving the learning outcomes of basic arithmetic.

We recognize that the LEAP Fellows, with their allocated working hours and expertise, can contribute to our goal of strengthening the evidence base within the 12-week project sprint. By leveraging their research skills, the fellows can review existing literature, identify research gaps, and develop research recommendations and strategies that align with our objectives. Their input can help us refine our solution, build credibility, and establish a strong foundation for future scalability and replication.

In summary, we believe that the LEAP Fellow team's support can guide us in conducting the necessary research and establishing connections to demonstrate the effectiveness of our Lego-Compatible TUI solution. Their expertise and efforts can significantly contribute to strengthening the evidence base, allowing us to make informed decisions, enhance our solution's impact, and ultimately improve the learning outcomes in basic arithmetic education.

1. Does the use of tangible concrete symbols have a greater impact on the development of numerical and logical thinking in learning basic arithmetic than abstract written symbols?
2. In what ways can the application of technology through the TUI
   (Tangible User Interfaces) contribute to the learning of concepts such as proportion, quantity, and equivalence of numbers in the context of basic arithmetic education?

1. Research Recommendations: One of the primary outputs we seek is the generation of research recommendations by the LEAP Fellows. These recommendations would be based on a comprehensive review of existing literature, studies, and resources related to the use of TUI technology in basic arithmetic education.

2. Guidance Document: The LEAP Fellows would help us to produce a guidance document that provides practical strategies for integrating TUI technology, particularly the Lego-Compatible format, in basic arithmetic education. This document would include evidence-based approaches, best practices, and considerations for implementation, teacher training, and assessment.

3. Experimental Framework: To contribute to the evidence base, the LEAP Fellows would lead us to design an experimental framework that outlines a methodology for conducting research to evaluate the effectiveness of the Lego-Compatible TUI technology in basic arithmetic education.

4. Data Collection Plan: The LEAP Fellows would guide us to develop a data collection plan that outlines specific measures, instruments, and procedures for collecting relevant data during the evaluation of the Lego-Compatible TUI technology.

5. Preliminary Findings Report: By the end of the 12-week sprint, we expect to produce preliminary findings report that summarizes the initial results and insights gathered from the evaluation of the Lego-Compatible TUI technology.

1. Implementing Research Recommendations: Our organization will use the research findings as a strategic guide. We will thoroughly assess and analyze these recommendations to identify crucial areas for further research and development.  

2. Employing Guidance Documents: The guidance document generated during the Leap project will be an invaluable asset for our own project, providing valuable information and advice.  

3. Carrying Out Additional Research: The experimental framework will establish a solid basis for future research endeavors. We will utilize this framework to create and execute studies that assess the impact and effectiveness of the TUI technology applied to basic arithmetic learning.  

4. The data collection plan will direct our efforts in gathering pertinent and meaningful data that aligns with our research objectives.  

5. Enhancing the Solution: The initial findings report will serve as a valuable resource of insights and lessons learned. We will meticulously analyze this information to adapt or refine both the product and the process.

At this project stage, our primary focus is on its growth and successful implementation. We recognize that even with the product launched on the market, ongoing modifications and improvements will be necessary. Therefore, we emphasize establishing a solid theoretical and experimental foundation. In the short term, we aim to verify the product's relevance to the market and achieve specific outputs contributing to its success.

1. Proof of concept: One of our immediate goals is to provide solid proof of concept for our product. This entails demonstrating its feasibility and potential by showcasing its core functionalities and value proposition. By presenting a tangible demonstration of our product's capabilities, we can generate interest among stakeholders, including potential customers, investors, and partners.

2. User feedback and validation: Obtaining input from target users and validating our product's value proposition are essential short-term outcomes.

3. Market relevance assessment: Another crucial short-term outcome is assessing the product's relevance in the market. This analysis will provide us with a comprehensive understanding of the market landscape and enable us to position our product effectively.

4. Scalability and feasibility evaluation: During the 12-week LEAP Project sprint, we will assess the scalability and feasibility of our solution. By conducting a thorough evaluation, we can identify any limitations or areas that require further development to ensure the product can be scaled effectively to meet market demands. 5. Preliminary business model and commercialization strategy: Developing a preliminary business model and commercialization strategy is an essential short-term outcome. A clear roadmap for commercialization will enable us to effectively position our solution in the market and drive its adoption